Why Mr. Nimbus From Rick And Morty Is More Important Than You Think

Portal jumpers, rejoice: "Rick and Morty" is back with a much-anticipated Season 5 premiere entitled "Mort Dinner Rick Andre." 

Appearing at last is Rick's long-teased nemesis from the sea, Mr. Nimbus, the virile, police-controlling King of Atlantis (or, as Jerry [Chris Parnell] names him, a "horny ocean guy"). Voiced by series co-creator Dan Harmon, the bizarre character has quickly become a fan favorite for his unique abilities and wacky attitude. He also raises a lot of more serious questions in light of his mysterious history with Rick (Justin Roiland) and his seldom-mentioned wife, Diane, who comes up briefly before Rick puts a quick kibosh on any attempts to establish "canonical backstory."

In a video from Adult Swim that ran after the episode, writer Jeff Loveness, Harmon, showrunner Scott Marder and director Jacob Hair talked about the origins of Mr. Nimbus and why they decided to finally debut the character for the premiere, as well as their inspiration behind Morty's brutal B-story.

"Mr. Nimbus has been talked about here and there for a while," Harmon shared with Adult Swim.

"He was in another episode that died," Loveness added. "But we all loved Mr. Nimbus so much that we were all just waiting for a chance to use him." Evidently, the Season 5 premiere was the time to do so. "Nimbus is kind of the antithesis of Rick," Loveness said. "Maybe he's the purest form of Rick. Nimbus actually is happy with himself because he knows he's the king of the ocean and he controls the police." This may explain why Rick has such disdain for Mr. Nimbus, as it's been shown how Rick struggles with self-loathing. It's possible that seeing Mr. Nimbus enjoy himself casts an unwelcome reflection on his own unhappiness.

The episode ends with Mr. Nimbus ordering the police to put Rick in jail, so hopefully we'll get to see more of the character in future episodes, which will air Sundays at 11 pm Eastern on Adult Swim for at least the next several weeks. The Season 5 premiere, "Mort Dinner Rick Andre," is currently streaming for free on Adult Swim's YouTube channel, just in case you missed it.